Japanese authorities have
informed the IAEA that Units 1, 2, and 4 at the Fukushima Daini retain
off-site power but are experiencing increased pressure in each reactor.
Plant operators have vented the containment at each of the three units
and are considering further venting to alleviate the increase in
pressure.
Daini Unit 3 is in a safe, cold shutdown, according to Japanese officials.
Japanese authorities have reported
some casualties to nuclear plant workers. At Fukushima Daichi, four
workers were injured by the explosion at the Unit 1 reactor, and there
are three other reported injuries in other incidents. In addition, one
worker was exposed to higher-than-normal radiation levels that fall
below the IAEA guidance for emergency situations. At Fukushima Daini,
one worker has died in a crane operation accident and four others have
been injured.
In partnership with the World
Meteorological Organization, the IAEA is providing its member states
with weather forecasts for the affected areas in Japan. The latest
predictions have indicated winds moving to the Northeast, away from
Japanese coast over the next three days.
The IAEA continues to liaise with the Japanese authorities and is monitoring the situation as it evolves.
He's abrasive and obnoxious, I feel you, but he's also smart. Got a strength I admire too. Let him rant. You'll learn a lot. Just maybe not on this topic. Think about it. In a crisis, this guy would force everyone to not go around like chickens with their heads cut off. Force us to sort through what is real. We can all read and think for ourselves. He's an asshole sometimes, and welcome in my village. He is as concerned as we are. Other wise he would not post the way he does.
Me, I learned today that I live within 200 miles of two of these power plants. What a dumbass I am, I did not know. I am looking into planning accordingly. Nothing extreme, but I am taking responsibility for me and my family like I have not before. I thought it was too "moonbat" before. ;-)
Argue, disagree, but let him be. We need everyone's voice (with the exception of the paid troll type, and he ain't it).
Peace. Freedom of Speech. Stuff like that. Enjoyed your posts around the blog today.
I live downwind from the national centrifuge facility.(Oak Ridge)
Fallout? Oh yeah.In the event it was hit by a nuke.....well, it would be fail,EPIC FAIL.
Dude, I can't decide if you are Chip Diller or just a plain sock puppet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jqQsDklQEM
Oh shit.
Cooter
Ah well...hold, brave little containment vessel, hold!
From AP update:
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said operators released slightly radioactive air from Unit 3 Sunday, while injecting water into it as an effort to reduce pressure and temperature to save the reactor from a possible meltdown.
Still, a partial meltdown in the unit is "highly possible," he told reporters.
"Because it's inside the reactor, we cannot directly check it but we are taking measures on the assumption of the possible partial meltdown," he said.
Edano said radiation levels briefly rose above legal limits, but that it has since declined significantly. Also, fuel rods were exposed briefly, he said, indicating that coolant water didn't cover the rods for some time. That would contribute further to raising the temperature in the reactor vessel.
Do you all see now? You doubters, that is -
"Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said operators released slightly radioactive air from Unit 3 Sunday..."
This follows their earlier statement that there was a massive explosion caused by a water pump earlier, that was so epicly violent that it just so happened to blow out the walls and roof into outer space in a nanosecond, but do absolutely no damage to anything in the interior or to the containment wall.
I mean, this is just one example, but assuming the translation is accurate, how in the hell is air "slightly radioactive?" Did they separate the 'highly radioactive air,' and contain that, while only releasing the air that was 'slightly radioactive?'
Where I come from, the electricity is on or off. You can't have the switch slightly on. Electricians of the world can testify. I shudder to think I'm making too much of this, but this is exactly what I've learned is a tell for someone who is lying, in this world, whether American, Japanese, or Papua New Guinean.
Actually, the panels on the reactor building around the refueling deck are designed to blow out in a overpressure situation. Almost all type 1 boiler reactors are designed this way.
I knew a guy who made a good living (and retirement) on a shielding design that tore away during jet impingements.
Yeah, I worked with a guy who specialized in just designing blow-out panels for hydrogen storage areas in semiconductor plants. He worked about six months out of the year and made a good living.
? Earlier they stated that he walls were 1.3M of concrete
Dunno. I think the officials "declined to state the temperature in the reactor" is the tell.
Damn the information is totally chaotic and disjointed. Daishi Unit 1 is the one that blew out it's containment building earlier. If they are pumping seawater into both reactors now this getting worse. I wonder if this mean they are pumping seawater into all 3 reactors that were functioning at the time of the quake?
They have been venting gas at Daini all day as well. That had 4 reactors operating at this facility when the quake hit. First the reports were that they had secondary emergency systems working with external power available. Now it sounds like they do not have external power and that at least one of the secondary systems failed after over heating.
Operations to relieve pressure in the containment of Fukushima Daiichi 3 have taken place after the failure of a core coolant system.
Tepco has reported it has not been able to restart unit 3's high pressure injection system after an automatic stop. This has left the reactor without sufficient coolant and obligated Tepco to notify government of an emergency situation.
Preparations for potential pressure relief had already been underway for many hours. Noriyuki Shikata, director of global communications in the prime minister's office, said the operation was expected to cool the containment, noting that "minute quantities of radioactive materials are released." When this occurred at unit 1, the International Atomic Energy Agency said the emission would be filtered to retain radioactive materials within the containment.
Noriyuki SHIKATA:
At 9:20, "vent" for primary containment vessel of Unit 3 was started. Cooling of the container is expected to be realized by this measure.
(hmm.)
Unit 3 got it's Boron injection this moring. Another one bites the dust.
Correction of a report that agreed with everything you heard up to the point when they changed it again, and then another source said the same thing, and then something different, ...ah yeah.
Latest IAEA update on Japan Earthquake (13 March 2011 0235 CET) -- CORRECTED by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 5:56pmAn earlier version of this release incorrectly described pressure venting actions at Units 1, 2, and 4 at the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant.
Venting did not occur at these units. (WHAT THE FUCK?)
Japanese authorities have informed the IAEA that Units 1, 2, and 4 at the Fukushima Daini retain off-site power. Daini Unit 3 is in a safe, cold shutdown, according to Japanese officials.
Japanese authorities have reported some casualties to nuclear plant workers. At Fukushima Daichi, four workers were injured by the explosion at the Unit 1 reactor, and there are three other reported injuries in other incidents. In addition, one worker was exposed to higher-than-normal radiation levels that fall below the IAEA guidance for emergency situations. At Fukushima Daini, one worker has died in a crane operation accident and four others have been injured.
In partnership with the World Meteorological Organization, the IAEA is providing its member states with weather forecasts for the affected areas in Japan. The latest predictions have indicated winds moving to the Northeast, away from Japanese coast over the next three days.
The 5am TEPCO update y'day listed all the Daiishi units as having offsite power...which begged the question why not use it? Maybe mechanical damage keeping ECCS from functioning? According to that 5am update, there was NO discussion as to how they were actually maintaining cooling / pressure control and what systems were Operable/functioning. I know we lose something in the translation probably but these updates have been poor by US Standards.
Safe shutdowns kill people?
Now all they need a is a 50-mile long extension cord or two?
I wish I still smoked.
I guess its never too late too restart:)
Deleted
Wow tech problems! LOL
I wish I still smoked reefer. Doh!
Didn't mean to post that x3. NSA bots will really be after me!
A Nuclear physicist I have bothered in the past on a few question e-mailed me that my theory of a late in-vessel release is probably not correct to account for the cesium and iodine release. His take is that an early Gap release when the fuel pins became uncovered and ruptured their cladding, probably caused the release. His one question was if Tellurium was detected. According to him, if one knows the fuel loading and aging of same, one can reach some conclusions about the condition of the fuel in the reactor, if Tellurium was released....pointing out that the reactor duty cycle is required for any kind of accuracy. None of this is really helpful, but I pass it along so those who probably know more than I.
Civilian exposures now into the dozens. Evacuations into the hundreds of thousands. This is really a well-managed media front considering how extreme it is getting.
Seems like IAEA should really upgrade the event rating past the Three Mile Island event already. Not that that's important under the circumstances.
Agree. They've already outdone Three Mile Island by venting gas, admitting to at least a partial meltdown (or 2) and having an explosion. I still maintain that the biggest tell is that they also admitted to treating at least 19 people for radiation poisoning.
It begins: 40,000 opponents of nuclear energy formed a 45-kilometer (27-mile) human chain across southern Germany Saturday to demand an immediate end to the use of nuclear energy. Angela Merkel has stated that Fukushima was a turning point for the world and has ordered review of all german nuclear power plants.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/12/3470906/merkel-promises-inspection-of.html#ixzz1GSB6dk1Z
The Germans project a aura of rationality but behind this smokescreen they are crazy people.
Where the fuck are they going to get the energy ?
Solar ! - A large part of Germany is above 50 degree latitude and their winters are cloudy miserable affairs.
From Nazis to Hippies - go figure.
When a plane falls out of the sky people don't run around wanting air travel banned for safety reasons
The concept of balance is beyond them.
It could be more of a political move to appease greenies and a nervous public. Wait and see if it has any real impact. I would say if any of these Japanese reactors go meltdown that nuclear power is dead in the U.S. (as it has been since 3-Mile Island) and probably most of the world.
there were more than 40,000 germans that weren't nazis back then, but they weren't taken seriously either
perhaps those 40,000 just want jobs as inspectors?
the latest TEPCO press release re conditions re the reactors is at
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11031305-e.html
and says that water injection to reactor 3 is currently interrupted and they've examining alternative ways to inject water.
Also says that 'spraying' to lower pressure levels inside the reactor has been cancelled.
What is 'spraying?'
One of the operational protocols in the "late-term" of an event is to cool the outside of the reactor vessel with a water spray/fan method....but, in the protocol, this must be done alongside with core water circulation.
probably the core spray system - basically water sprayed in via a feed ring into the vessel - another way of adding water. Though the update says spraying to lower pressure in the containment vessel. This could be the Containment Spray system - which is confusing as this is a PWR system - not BWR. Further, not sure what they mean by its being "cancelled"...intentionally or due to equipment malfunction(s)? The verbiage being used here is awful, very non-descriptive, at least to me. As far as water injection being currently interrupted - was it ever established? If so, for how long?
On a BWR this is more commonly called a drywell spray system, which cools the outside of the reactor vessel.
While these events are tragic, especially the loss of human life, it is important to remember that to some tragedy and hardship is endemic, an inescapable way of life.
This is an awesome read:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50799
Cliff Notes: A man and woman sell everything they own to finance a road trip through the Republic of the Congo; something that has apparently not been done in decades. The thread linked above documents their journey, with copious amounts of pictures.
Lady Gaga's Japan Prayer Bracelet for sale.
http://bit.ly/f0aYwZ
Well, The New York Times is reporting they've pretty much lost control of 2 reactors, meltdowns in progress, and that 3 others are at imminent risk.
Officials Presume Partial Meltdowns at 2 Crippled Reactors By HIROKO TABUCHI and MATTHEW L. WALD 8 minutes agoJapanese officials said Sunday they presumed partial meltdowns had occurred at two crippled reactors and that they were facing serious cooling problems at three more.
(Mar 13,2011)
Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 9am March 13th)
All 6 units of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have been shut down. Unit 1(Shut down) - Reactor has been shut down. However, the unit is under inspection due to the explosive sound and white smoke that was confirmed after the big quake occurred at 3:36PM. - We have been injecting sea water and boric acid which absorbs neutron into the reactor core. Unit 2(Shut down) - Reactor has been shut down and Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System has been injecting water to the reactor. Current reactor water level is lower than normal level, but the water level is steady. After fully securing safety, we are preparing to implement a measure to reduce the pressure of the reactor containment vessels under the instruction of the national government. Unit 3(Shut down) - Reactor has been shut down. However, High Pressure Core Injection System has been automatically shut down and water injection to the reactor is currently interrupted. We are examining alternative way to inject water. Also, following the instruction by the government and with fully securing safety, steps to lowering the pressure of reactor containment vessel has been taken. Spraying in order to lower pressure level within the reactor containment vessel has been cancelled. - Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel. Unit 4 (shut down due to regular inspection) - Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant to ensure safety is maintained. - Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel. Unit 5 (outage due to regular inspection) - Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant to ensure safety is maintained. - Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel. Unit 6 (outage due to regular inspection) - Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant to ensure safety is maintained. - Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel. Casualty - 2 workers of cooperative firm were injured at the occurrence of the earthquake, and were transported to the hospital. - 1 TEPCO employee who was not able to stand by his own with his hand holding left chest was transported to the hospital by an ambulance. - 1 subcontract worker at important earthquake-proof building was unconscious and transported to the hospital by an ambulance. - The radiation exposure of 1 TEPCO employee, who was working inside the reactor building, exceeded 100mSv and was transported to the hospital. - 4 workers were injured and transported to the hospital after explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed around the Unit 1. - Presence of 2 TEPCO employees at the site are not confirmed Others - We measured radioactive materials inside of the nuclear power station area (outdoor) by monitoring car and confirmed that radioactive materials level is higher than ordinary level. Also, the level at monitoring post is higher than ordinary level. We will continue to monitor in detail the possibility of radioactive material being discharged from exhaust stack or discharge canal. The national government has instructed evacuation for those local residents within 20km radius of the periphery because it's possible that radioactive materials are discharged.
Today, the measured value revamped and the radiation dose measured at site boundary exceeded the limiting value again. As such, at 8:56AM, today, it was determined that a specific incident stipulated in article 15, clause 1 occurred.
2 minutes ago
This article is so fucking stupid. It's attacking the credibility of the news reporting?! ZH is a great financial reporting website, but sometimes when it comes to some real life issues ZH can be so completely off the mark. You arrogant fucks. There are so many good reasons for why they could be reporting what they are reporting. They are trying to save as many lives as possible and if that means temporarily giving out disinformation, then so be it. Panic is not a good thing during crises. Not everything is a deep seeded conspiracy against the common man.
So what you're endorsing is to deny people who may have the ability, means and intelligence the information that would cause them to get to safety?
Just tell them all is well, and then let them and their children be irradiated like lobsters in a slow pot (if things should turn out that way, and I sincerely hope that they don't)?
Why not give people accurate information and let them decide what plan of action is best for their own fate and that of their dependent elderly and children, based on their own free will calculus?
That's one hell of a massive evacuation plan you have there.
And again, you are essentially stating that it's better for the government to withold the truth that would cause some with the means and ability to escape to instead rely on false confidence and potentially perish, than it would be for the government to tell the truth, and increase the ability of people to exercise their free will?
I would rather perish exercising free will based on accurate information than die like a rat trapped in a cage with a fire consuming me, all because someone else had determined it best for me not to know the truth.
The truth will not only set you free but will save your ass 10 times out of 10 old son.
When I was a young lad they told me the World was Flat and masturbation was a sin, Lying Fuckers
I'm sure there must be quite a few people with the means to leave, doing their best to leave Japan.
Perhaps lying to the public is a way to make sure that only the gullible die?
ZH certainly takes the most negative explanation possible most of the time. It is just a bias that the reader needs to compensate for.
the number 3 reactor is the problem
it has mox in it
Mixed oxide, or MOX fuel, is nuclear fuel containing more than one oxide of fissile or fertile materials. Specifically, it usually refers to a blend of oxides of plutonium and natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium which behaves similarly (though not identically) to the low-enriched uranium oxide fuel for which most nuclear reactors were designed. MOX fuel is an alternative to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel used in the light water reactors that predominate nuclear power generation.
One attraction of MOX fuel is that it is a way of disposing of surplus weapons-grade plutonium, which otherwise would have to be disposed as nuclear waste, and would remain a nuclear proliferation risk. However, there have been fears that normalising the global commercial use of MOX fuel and the associated expansion of reprocessing will itself lead to greater proliferation risk.
if the reactor goes, and no one is saying they have the 3 reactors in their firm control, then northern japan needs to be evacuated..
He who panics first is most likley to live. While the other trusting sheep sacrifice the lives of their families believing the soothing words of authority.
Panic is only bad if it leads to increased risk to life and limb otherwise each has a right to know and judge for themselves as each has the responsibility for their and their family's lives.
In the case of the power plants they should be telling it how it is and let everybody run for the hills if that is what they want. Some in Tokyo are doing just that, they know you don't sit back and wait and see. Run first, then turn and look back.
the current zionist american way is not to panic but to exploit a crisis - in fact they only panic when there is no crisis
The information managers have likely already fled which allows them to be so cool and collected unlike the common man facing the real danger. Only when the people urging calm are willing to place themselves in harms way will I respect their leadership. I don't trust anyone who give themselves permission to deceive. Your attitude is arrogant. You think of us common folk as mindless sheep, incapable of acting in a way that will benefit us. Surely there are those who will panic and act in a destructive way, but their will also be those among us who will show true leadership and take charge. I prefer to trust that arming people with the truth will lead to the best outcome.
Al Jazeera reporting they have been told by Japan authorities that more meltdowns are possible and reacor 3 may blow similarly to reactor 1
Swiss citizens living in Japan are requested to follow the instructions of the Japanese authorities and follow the imposed safety measures in the areas of the nuclear reactors.
Some radioactive fallout has been confirmed. However, under current weather conditions possible radioactivity would travel eastward over the Pacific Ocean, and the Japanese government reported declining levels of radioactivity.
The Embassy of Switzerland follows the situation closely and is in contact with Japanese authorities and specialists in Switzerland.
The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI published a recent announcement on the situation in Fukushima: http://www.eda.admin.ch/etc/medialib/images/design_images/design_icons.P...);" src="http://www.eda.admin.ch/img/body/tp.gif" border="0" alt="http://www.ensi.ch/" width="12" height="10" /> www.ensi.ch/
The National Emergency Operations Centre in Switzerland publishes the most recent information on its website: http://www.eda.admin.ch/etc/medialib/images/design_images/design_icons.P...);" src="http://www.eda.admin.ch/img/body/tp.gif" border="0" alt="https://www.naz.ch/de/aktuell/index.html" width="12" height="10" /> www.naz.ch/de/aktuell/index.html
All Swiss citizens are invited to contact the Embassy of Switzerland. Please provide your status and whereabouts. Please inform the Embassy if you are in need of assistance.
The BBC just said that one of the reactors in trouble is unusual in that it has plutonim fuel. Did anyone else see this?
I feel for the Japanese people and wish them all the best at this tragic time.
From ZH yesterday:
Company announced they went into commercial operation with plutonium at Unit 3 last October...bottom of page 12:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/useful/pdf-1/brochu-e.pdf
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Sunday he approved conducting planned power outages starting Monday to prevent any massive supply disruptions after a devastating earthquake hit Japan on Friday.
Planned power outage to be done by region, each region for 3 hours:
Who the hell builds a power grid at two different frequencies? Half the country runs European style 50 mhz and the other half Western 60 mhz!
Anyone know if Shintar? Ishihara has made any statements?
They sound like the names of ancient Mesopotamian gods. Hmmmmm
It's "Shintaro" Ishihara, Governer of Tokyo, a real piece of work.
I was living in Tokyo when he stated,
Foreigners - "in the event a natural disaster struck the Tokyo area, they would be likely to cause civil disorder"
Yet the good people of Tokyo kept voting for him.
So when do we reach a critical mass of black swans and flapping butterfly wings. The sky is getting pretty crowed now.
it does feel like that doesn't it...things are popping off. You know high food prices lead to unrest but you don't when some guy in Tunisia is going get hassled by police and respond not by fighting police but by lighting himself on fire. So many plates spinning, more and more likely something drops.
First, I am no different than most of you: I want to KNOW what's going on, everywhere. I have a fb page where I post much of what's happening in the world that is negative. Been doing it for some time now. I've discovered in order to keep my sanity I must separate myself from what's going on locally, in my state, in my country and in the world - but I still have the need to know, as do my near 5,000 readers - it is like an addiction I will admit. But without the 'proper information' how can one make sound decisions for our future? Our World has gotten very small indeed and what happens in Nepal may well affect me sooner than I think nowadays.
In order to keep my sanity (negative overload) I keep the following at my fingertips:
Now, what are we dealing with in the "here and now": the earthquake in Japan - earthquakes around the world. Tsunamis, fires, floods,... mudslides, hurricanes and nuclear disasters. Coal mine explosions and oil spills. Violent uprisings, anarchy, labor union revolts, revolutions, war, bombings, assassinations, mayhem, chaos, drug lords, tyrants, Marxists, communists and Muslims. Civil war, division, partisan politics, corruption, greed, power, hatred and racism. Angst, fear, worry, suffering, misery, concern and sadness. Depression, recession, inflation, bankruptcy and crash. Gloom, doom, endtimes, solar flares, Planet X, global warming, ice age, plate tectonics, extraterrestrials, cosmic wars, life on Mars, structures on the moon, the Great Pyramid, godlessness, mass annihilation, Hitler, human sacrifice, abortions, concentration camps, underground dwellings, Armageddon, the Antichrist and the Second Coming.
Did I miss anything?
We're all told THIS IS IT. Some say May 21st of this year...others follow the Mayans on December 21st, 2012. There's definitely something in the air today that I have NEVER experienced in my entire life. Personally, I can't put my finger on it. There is a crazy, inexplicable dynamic that seems to be taking place. Look around, people. It seems to be coming to a theater near you.
Perhaps it's a sign or a warning of sorts. Or maybe I'm just a little bit older and more realistic about what's happening in the world today. Hell, it could just mean that we have access to more information than ever in the entire history of mankind. Who knows.
Quite frankly, I cannot find anywhere in today's world - news, entertainment, social networks or otherwise - where a bright, safe and happy future exists....
Look, you can believe what you want to believe. Live in fear if you so choose. It's almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy that alarmists just love to engage in and misery loves company, too. This is the true nature of people. It's almost as if they want a meteor the size of Delaware to wipe us out into extinction.
While we stive to stay informed, the complete annihilation of our planet or societies ain't gonna happen. Sorry to bust your gonfalon, kids, but it ain't gonna happen any time in the next one-hundred centuries and more. We live on a constantly changing planet and in constantly changing societies - it is the Nature of things.
The planet is going through its normal growing pains as it has for millions of years before and will continue to remind us all just what insignificant and infinitesimal li'l creatures we are in the grandest scheme of things. Al Gore and the rest of the global warming and climate change community have it all wrong. They and you will be dead soon, and your children will take over. Then, get this, they'll be dead too, and their kids will take over. And so on and so forth ad infinitum until the universe is finally bored with us.
It's been like this for thousands and thousands of years and will continue unabated. We just have to figure out a way to cope with all of this change. Intelligence, courage, resourcefulness, patience, understanding and hard work are all you need to overcome the gravest of man-concocted scenarios. It might be a good idea to get back to God, while you're at it. Don't worry, He won't mind. Besides, it's good for the soul.
The future is only as bright as how you raise your children and grandchildren. All of this shall pass, too. Nothing will happen as long as you remain a positive force, inspiration and a beacon of hope in the little world that you have established for yourself. Don't fall for the two-bit politicians, journalists, soothsayers, doomsdayers, naysayers and charlatans who will blow major smoke up your ass until the cows come out. They want you to live in abject fear so they can control your lives. Only you know deep in your gut what is right and proper.
Start now. Be strong and prepared for just about anything. This was the mentality of those who traversed the plains westward in Conestoga wagons, trailblazing a new frontier during the most brutal of times. I'm sure they thought the world was going to end for them, too. In other words, it's been done.
Look out for yourself and your own family FIRST, before you take on the added responsibility of helping others. Watch, learn, listen and teach. Most of all, have no fear. If you keep God strong in your heart, and because if He resides in your heart - when You decide to act, He will go with you.
Now, time to enjoy the glory that is LIFE.
You been watching too much Oprah?
Can't stand her...
"Hell, it could just mean that we have access to more information than ever in the entire history of mankind."
Yep, we are only aware of what has been happening for all time. At the same time you can also be aware that breaking your neck in the shower, falling down the stairs, being t boned by a big rig and on and on. Except that your going to die and don't sweat it.
Arrogant to assume that humanity or earth is going to be around for a long time. You are describing another way to numb out. Good post anyway.
The Buddist priests take the novices by the Charnel grounds, graveyards where they don't bury the dead. You see corpses every where, all in different stages of decay. Naturally they freak. And they do it repeatedly (not sure just how often). The result is you become very aware of death (your own) and you get comfortable with it. You remember that corpse over there by the tree when it was fresh. You become interested in just what happens when the skin is exposed to the elements long enough, etc.
We need more Charnel grounds. We ghettoize illness and death when really it should be front row, center, in our experience. Then life becomes more precious and we can handle our deaths in a more straightforward manner.
Bingo MS
Massive earthquake, followed by tsunami and then nuke meltdown. This has to win the award for all-time shittiest week. Hands down!
You forgot to add Gadaffi Gduck's fightback, Gbagbo the Gbrainless's intransigence and that Arsenal lost (again). Yup, hell of a bum week.
Maybe next week it gets better?
While USGS.gov has been consistent with a 8.9 rating. Japanese Govt, during mkt hours, first said it is 7.9, then 8.4, then 8.8 and now, 9.0 to justify all the damages that they are suffering.
Just an observation. Nuclear radiation/meltdown/explosion are NEVER a good thing.
Never seen any of this coming... especially from Japan, not exactly a third world country who has no experience with Tsunami. (Yes, they INVENTED the word...)
I am sure they tried, but nature is winning, against men/women/AIBO robots...
Japan with the Tsunami, reminds me of the AIGFP against CDO^2. Just because they are the best at something, doesn't mean it is a fruitful endeavor... It might be smarter to either not invent these complicated products or just leave the coastal areas... period. But hey, it is always fine, until it isn't... Condolences to beach front properties EVERYWHERE.
Watch, it is when "Glad the nuclear reactor core is only partially melted down and reactor #3 won't below up this week..." provide a sigh of relief is when your expectation is fully managed.... Just like, glad to have TARP repayed by the banks with 10% annualized profits. Let's do that again...
Like wealth, it is all relative...
stone525i RT @RT_com: 60-year-old man washed away by tsunami along with house rescued 15 km off shore by Japanese Navy #news #japan #tsunami #fukushima Twitter - 7 minutes ago
classic. great story to tell his grandkids
At last- looks like reactor #1 seems to be under control
Authorities are currently pumping seawater into three of four reactors - how can that mean anything is under control ? Sounds like events are running out of control of the authorities to some degree - I hope they catch up...
This will all be over in a couple of weeks, the MSM can only hump for so long.
Stoneleigh at AUE (The Automatic Earth) has a very good article just out on Fukushipa......
http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/
Worth a read
Fukushima..sorry for the misspelling
(From BBC) A state of emergency has been declared at a second nuclear power plant in Japan, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said. "Japanese authorities have informed the IAEA that the first, or lowest, state of emergency at the Onagawa nuclear power plant (is in Miyagi prefecture) has been reported by Tohoku Electric Power Company," a statement said, according to the AFP news agency. The alert was declared "as a consequence of radioactivity readings exceeding allowed levels in the area surrounding the plant". "Japanese authorities are investigating the source of radiation," it added.
This is going to give an entirely new meaning to BoJ 'toxic asset' purchasing.
Just announced:
The Bernanke has agreed to purchase all of Japan's damaged nuclear reactors for 22.479 times pre-earthquake book value, and they will be put off onto Maiden Lane III.
Then AIG will buy them, with money they borrow from the Fed, which will be backstopped by the US taxpayer.
And then AIG will go to the brink of BK 2.0, which The Bernank & Geithner will deem represents a 'systemic threat' to the economy, and all CDS that AIG had entered into, including those on Japanese nuclear operations, with Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and their filthy ilk, will be paid off by The Bernank & The Geithner, 150% on the dollar.
gotta love the AP headlines (like they don't have an agenda or anything)
Japan races to avert multiple nuclear meltdownsUpdated: Sunday, 13 Mar 2011, 9:06 AM EDT
Published : Sunday, 13 Mar 2011, 4:45 AM EDT
KORIYAMA, Japan (AP) - Japan's nuclear crisis intensified Sunday as authorities raced to combat the threat of multiple reactor meltdowns and more than 170,000 people evacuated the quake- and tsunami-savaged northeastern coast where fears spread over possible radioactive contamination.
http://www3.wdtn.com/dpps/news/international/nuclear-plant-partial-meltd...
http://www.glgroup.com/News/Fukashima-Daiichi-nuclear-plant-shutdown--LN...
latest TEPCO press release is up. Much longer than the ones yesterday.
They've preparing to vent air with radioactive materials at three Fukushima Daini reactors.
They confirmed that they injected sea water and boron into #3 at F. Daiichi /by the Fire Pump' and are 'coordinating with the relevant authorities and departments s to how to cool down water in spent nuclear fuel pool' in connection with #1 Daiichi. Confirms hydrogen explosion at #3 possible.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11031310-e.html
Can somebody with a little more smarts in this area than I please read this and tell me if this scenario would apply at these plants? I realize the author is discussing power outage due to EMP, but the similarities are there. Sorry for the long cut-n-paste, the article is buried in an archive page, and hard to find by just linking.
Credit SurvivalBlog:
As a nuclear engineer who has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years, I have agreed with this premise – that all of the US commercial reactors are very safe. Under normal circumstances, I still believe this. However, as I have been studying the effects of EMP for the last several years, my concerns have grown.
I have recently been in contact with a member of the intelligence community who is highly knowledgeable in the area of EMP. I have communicated my fears regarding the effects that an EMP attack might have on nuclear power plants, and this person has confirmed (through independent sources) that my concerns are well founded. I have also gotten concurrence from eight other engineers of various disciplines at my power plant (such as transient analyses, simulator, reactor engineering, a Shift Technical Adviser and nuclear analyses) that the scenario that I describe here is accurate.
Nuclear power plants are not isolated electrically. They are tied into the power grid and are also dependent upon it. There is a postulated accident for nuclear power stations called “Station Blackout,” where all off-site power is lost. Every nuclear power plant must prove to the NRC that they have the ability to withstand this event without core damage. Every US nuclear power plant has emergency diesel generators just for this purpose. These are designed to start automatically in the event of the loss of off-site power. This kind of event has actually happened before in the USA, and the systems responded as designed, and off-site power was restored within a reasonable period of time.
However, in the event of an EMP attack, the grid will come down, and it may not come up for many months, if not years. It is likely that a substantial number of transformers that are used to link power plants (and this applies to all power plants – coal, gas, oil and nuclear) to the grid will be “fried.” There will be no way to obtain off-site power to restart the nuclear power plants. Most station blackout events are assumed to be concluded (i.e., “over”) within 24 hours. No one that I know of has seriously analyzed the effects of prolonged station blackouts.
Assuming that the emergency diesel generators will start after an EMP event (and this is up for debate), most power plants only have enough diesel fuel on site to keep them running for about one week (though some may have up to 30 days of fuel). If they don't start, or if the controls systems do not operate, then everything that I describe here will still come to pass, only much more rapidly. The power from the diesel generators is needed to operate the pumps that circulate the water in the reactor (called the “primary side”) and that also feed the steam generators with water (part of the “secondary side”). If power to the reactor coolant pumps in the primary side is lost, the reactor will likely begin what is known as “natural circulation.” However, in order to remove heat from the reactor core, water still needs to be continuously pumped through the steam generators so that the heated water in the secondary side can be cooled either via cooling towers, spray ponds or some other ultimate heat sink. If these secondary side (feed water) pumps will not operate, then the steam generators will dry out and then the cooling effect for the core is lost. (A steam generator is just a very large heat exchanger. Think of the steam generator as the “radiator” in your car. If your water pump goes out, water will not be able to flow through the radiator, and your car will overheat.) The result is that the reactor core will heat up, pressure will build to the point that the reactor coolant system (RCS) will not be able to withstand the pressure. Special spring-loaded valves will automatically lift and vent steam to the containment building to reduce the pressure in the primary system. Loss of pressure control will occur eventually, the coolant inventory in the RCS will drop to the point that the core becomes uncovered. Charging pumps normally would pump additional water into the primary system, but without power, these will not be available. Essentially, this event is similar to what is known as a Loss of Cooling Accident (LOCA). Again, all power plants are designed to “survive” this type of accident with minimal fuel damage. However, that assumption is based on having power available to operate the safety systems, including the High Pressure and Low Pressure Safety Injection (HPSI and LPSI) pumps to pump additional water into the primary system. There are other emergency systems, such as Safety Injection Tanks (SIT), which are passive and will inject water into the core when the pressure is reduced enough such that the SIT tank pressure is greater than the RCS pressure and then the check valves will open automatically. [It should be pointed out here that there are also steam-driven auxiliary pumps that will still function for a while to run the auxiliary feed water system to feed additional water into the steam generators (until there is no water left in the secondary system to turn into steam).]
The HPSI and LPSI pumps are designed to ensure that the core remains covered (as much as possible) by injecting water into the core so that the core can still be cooled. If these pumps are not working due to lack of electrical power, then no additional water is being injected into the core. When the water level in the reactor drops below the top level of the fuel, the core will begin to melt. This is what happened at Three Mile Island. However, the containment structure prevented large releases of radioactive fission products to the public.
You might ask, “well, if the containment structure can contain the melted reactor core, is there a real danger to the public?” The answer is, “yes,” but not from where you think. The reactor core may well be the focus of most people, but the real concern is somewhere else.
What many people don't know about nuclear power plants is that when spent fuel is off-loaded from the reactor core, the fuel is then placed into what is essentially a large, very deep swimming pool called the “spent fuel pool.” Fuel that has been removed from an operating reactor core is still very hot (both in the sense of temperature and radiation level). In fact, if you were to stand within even 50 feet of a spent fuel assembly with no shielding, you would receive a lethal dose of radiation in just seconds. The water in the spent fuel pool, in addition to cooling the fuel assemblies, acts as a biological shield. In fact, water is an excellent shielding material. You can stand at the top of the spent fuel pool in virtually any nuclear power plant in the US and receive virtually no dose of radiation, so long as the fuel assemblies are covered by about 25 feet of water.
The building that houses the spent fuel pools at nuclear power plants in this country is usually a simple building, with concrete sides and floors but usually with nothing but a thin, corrugated steel roof. This is the root of the problem. Just like the fuel in the reactor, the fuel assemblies in the spent fuel in pool must also be cooled. These pools have their own independent, multiply redundant systems for cooling, separate from the systems that cool the reactor core. However, these pool cooling systems can be cross-tied with the reactor cooling systems in an emergency. The water in the spent fuel pool must be continuously circulated through heat exchangers (again, like your car radiator) to reject heat. Loss of off-site power will also cause a loss of spent fuel cooling. Normally, the temperature in these spent fuel pools is somewhere around 100 to 110 degrees F or so (similar to a typical suburban “hot tub”). When the spent fuel cooling system pumps stop operating, the fuel assemblies in the spent fuel pool will immediately begin to heat up. These fuel assemblies will continue to heat the water in the spent fuel pool until it boils. The best case scenario of “time to boil” for these spent fuel pools is perhaps 90 hours. The worst case, such as just after a core offload, would be much shorter, perhaps as little as four hours or even less. At that point, once the fuel assemblies in the spent fuel pool become uncovered because the water has boiled off, the effects mirror what would happen in the reactor core. The spent fuel assemblies will heat up until the fuel cladding starts to melt. As bits of the melting fuel fall into what is left of the water in the pool, the process will just accelerate as the heat source is now more concentrated since it has fallen back into the water and the water may flash to steam and this may cause the pressure in the building to increase, and radioactive steam, carrying radioactive particles, will now begin to exit the building through the non-sealed penetrations, portals or doors in the building.
Of course, there are usually multiple sources of water than can be called upon to re-fill the spent fuel pool before the water all boils off. But virtually all of these systems are dependent upon working, electrically operated pumps to move this water. If control systems have failed due to the EMP and there is no power to operate the pumps (either to add additional water or to pump water through the heat exchangers), then the fuel will ultimately become uncovered. Exposing the hot zirconium fuel cladding to air and steam causes an exothermic reaction, and the cladding will actually catch fire at about 1,000 degrees C. Even the NRC concedes that this type of fire cannot be extinguished, and could rage for days (Source: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol. 58, No. 1, Jan./Feb. 2002).
The bottom-line is that if the spent fuel cooling pumps cannot be operated or the system cannot be cross-tied with the reactor shutdown cooling system, then the fuel assemblies in the spent fuel pool will melt, catch fire, and radioactive fission products will be released into the atmosphere and much of the countryside downwind of the nuclear power plant will be contaminated for many years. Thus, an EMP attack has the potential to cause a Chernobyl type accident at every nuclear power plant in the country!
There are a lot of “ifs” to this scenario. IF there is an EMP attack or solar event. IF the emergency diesel generators will function (or not) and IF the spent fuel pooling system can get power from the diesels or be cross-tied to the shutdown cooling system. Perhaps the emergency diesel generators will still function, but what happens when they run out of fuel? In the event of an EMP attack, can tanker trucks with diesel fuel get to all of the nuclear power plants in the US in time to re-fuel them before they stop running? Will tanker trucks even be running themselves?
I think it also bears noting that the volume of fuel in the spent fuel pools is many times greater than that in the reactor cores. Most nuclear power plants have 10 to 20 years or more of spent fuel stored in their spent fuel pools. Therefore, the consequences of a spent fuel pool melting down and subsequently spewing radioactive fission products into the air is potentially worse than if just the reactor core were to melt and its fission products releases into the air. Assuming all of the spent fuel in the pool melts, catches fire and the radioactive isotopes are released into the atmosphere, lethal dose rates may be accumulated even 5 to 10 miles from the plant site (>500 REM), with dose approaching 50 REM even out as far as 50 miles. Since Cesium-137 would be the largest released isotope in terms of curies (which the body preferentially uptakes over potassium), it will be about 300 years before the area might be habitable again. This is because Cesium-137 has a half-life of about 30 years, and the “rule of thumb” is that you need to wait ten half-lives before the isotope has decayed away to a negligible level. (Results for dose were calculated for a typical pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent fuel pool using the RASCAL radiation dose code from Oak Ridge National Laboratory assuming 100% release over two days, winter conditions, calm winds at 4 mph.)
http://www.survivalblog.com/nbc/
most of that was Greek to me, but the last paragraph on the danger of fuel pools should focus attention on that sentence in the latest TEPCO press 'release' suggesting they're still figuring out how to deal with their pool at #1.
It's not clear whether each of the reactors have their own pools (the press release inserts the fuel pool comment in connection with #1) or if the pool serves all the reactors there (meaning it might be larger than if just associated with one reactor.
I read it three times to try to get a handle on it, but it seems to me, that the pools may be a much bigger issue than the reactors we are focusing on. Thanks.
The pools are bigger. Remember that a permanent nuclear waste storage facility has still not been constructed (Yucca Mountain), so all of that spent fuel is sitting there. Diesel generator defense against EMP is to keep backup starter solenoids / electronics in a faraday cage.
Are you saying that Japanese pools are bigger? I understand the EMP ramifications, I'm talking about the similarities of pools cooking off in Japan. Is this issue as simple as them just throwing water from the ocean into the pools?
Coop, I'll take a stab at it, appreciate others' thoughts. Probably get a bit technical 'cuz that the nature of your question.
1. It appears that you/the article are combining two different situations: a) "Station Blackout" (SBO) and "Loss of Offsite Power" (LOOP). b) is detaching the unit from the grid--happens often with e.g. lightning strike in the switchyard. a) is b) plus failure of the Emergency Diesel Generators to start (double failure). In either case, the Unit will trip (reactor trip<--insert all control rods, turbine trip<--main Gen Breaker trips, throttle/stop valves shut, drains to condenser open but will lose condenser vacuum. Your writeup is based on a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR).
Power in SBO situation is from station batteries (WWII submarine batteries). As the industry has looked over failure scenarios, most plants have added in one or two "Black" backup generators (diesel or jet) that can feed certain loads but don't carry the safety related requirements/costs. So the operators have visibility into critical plant parameters (instrumentation powered from vital bus fed from batteries or rectifier from the Black generator). Motive power to pump cooling water to steam generators is from steam in the SGs through the "Steam Driven Auxiliary Feedwater Pump" a mechanical governor small steam turbine that can generate sufficient flow+head to put water into the SG. BWR equivalent below. Suction is from safety related "Condensate Storage Tank" that has enough water to steam and remove the decay heat.
2. Reactor shutdown means that the sustained chain reaction has been shut off. However, fissions come in sorta' two flavors: prompt and delayed. At time of trip, say 100% power, all rods go in, power decays exponentially to like 1% in like 72 hours. The thermal megawatt-hours under that curve have to be removed. Water pumped in to the steam generator, boils, some steam to the AFW turbine, some through pressure control valves to atmosphere. BWR quite similar but without the Steam Generator. Steam in the main steam system is sent to same type of mechanical steam turbine (Reactor Core Isolation Cooling, pronounced "Rixy") and water pumped into the core. Steam is (preferentially) bled to the Torus (wetwell) through spargers, steam goes into the water, quenches, raises the water temperature, knocks down the pressure. Water source is refuelling water storage tank (fuzzy, if memory serves)--a safety related vessel containing primary grade water.
3. Which gets us to single failure criterion. An accident is postulated, its effects are understood, the analyst gets to break "ONE MORE THING" of his/her choosing. The design, installation, and operation have to be proven to work under those conditions. However, what above is discussing, and what is happing in Fuqushima Daiichi-1, -3, and at Daini station are evidently multiple failure scenarios (e.g. tsunami swamps both EDGs, safety related water sources not available <-- seawater injection) {guessing here} caused by significant structural failures. Report that Honshu shifted 2 m might be true, if true would be significant. Also puzzling is loss of preferred feed of primary grade water. Were there significant structural failures in the safety related water storage tanks?
4. Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is considered in electronics design. More critical in modern digital control systems, the old analog control systems (TTL, early op-amp, even some mag-amps) are highly immune. See e.g. R.G. 1.180 on www.nrc.gov in the electronic reading room. That includes testing new electronic systems with energy spectra i) expected in situ and ii) to destruction. More-so military grade than before.
First conclusion: LOOP and SBO have diverse mechanisms and additional design features to keep the core safe. Possible common cause failure would be seismic accelerations beyond design, geotechnical fault, and tsunami innundation.
5. EMP effects have been and are being evaluated by FERC, NERC, NRC, and other alphabet-soup agencies. Basic situation is that there is so much steel, mats, reinforcing bars, etc. that EMP inside the plant is probably not a general problem. But pop a device above a plant and it will have many problems. Wireless communication is problematic inside (modern wireless pretty much doesn't work).
6. Which leads to the easiest part of the discussion. The spent fuel pool description is well done. But on loss of all forced cooling, the pool might heat up and boil. Just park a water tanker and add an inch/day or so. In the fubar situation of EMP grid collapse, the National Guard would be bringing in DI water and diverse sources/brands of diesel fuel to keep the EDGs going. Plus staging portable generators.
Second conclusion: nevermind.
I hope that this is helpful; please pick at it if not right or not clear. There are differences in terminology among B&W, C-E, 'circle-bar-W' and obviously GE/Toshiba/Hitachi-san.
- Ned
I think you answered my question. So we can assume that the crews are able to add enough water to the pools to keep up with the amount of evaporation/cookoff etc???
Yes, lose an inch or two/day.
Same with diesel-truck in supplies during e.g. 30 DOS period.
Glad you showed.
I'm not one of the folks you wanted to answer, but I read it and it seemed to be a repeat of a lot of what they are worried about here, except it is an EMP that shuts down the grid instead of the Tsunami. Looks credible to me.
Rawles is bookmarked. Sad he lost his wife.
http://au-bout-de-la-route.blogspot.com/2011/03/manquait-plus-que-ca.html
caption of the cloud reaching canada and the us....
the whole fucking island is going to blow the fuck up! Get the hell out while you can!
They're cranking Harp way the fuck up. Going to waste the living fuck out of China next.
Just fucking around. :) but the terrible thing is this shit just might fucking happen!
Holly fucking shit! Think about it for a second. Why the hell is all of this happening
all at once every fucking day?